Stalin govt to recommend NIA probe into Coimbatore blast

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said it has decided to recommend that the probe into the recent blast near a temple in Coimbatore be transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The state government decided that the involvement of factors "extraneous to the state" and "possible international links" make the case fit for investigation by the NIA, it said in a press release.

"The chief minister ordered increased security for the city of Coimbatore," the release added.


The state government will set up separate police stations for three areas in the city, and expand installation of surveillance cameras across the city and in other metros.

Early on Sunday, a car loaded with two gas cylinders blew up near a temple in Coimbatore's Ukkadam area. The car was being driven by Jameesha Mubin, a 29-year-old engineering graduate. Mubin had attempted to get past a police check post near the temple, but fled after failing to do so, state police chief C Sylendra Babu told reporters on Monday.

Police have arrested five men who had been in contact with Mubin, and charged them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The police chief also said that Mubin was under the NIA radar in 2019, in the aftermath of the Easter bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, but no case was filed against him.

Former chief minister and contestant to AIADMK's chief post O Panneerselvam said the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated, while party chief Edappadi Palaniswami called for an independent inquiry into the incident.